


The Trials of Zetor-1

by Blue_Rose06



Category: The Folk of the Air - Holly Black, The Selection Series - Kiera Cass, Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-15 15:34:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 18,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28691007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Rose06/pseuds/Blue_Rose06
Summary: Aerilyn never knew how dark the world could become. The universe thought of an awful way to tell her. Wedding gone wrong, conspiracy theories and new friends. But worst of all, she got betrayed and lost the most beautiful gift that had been given to her. Would she get it back?
Kudos: 4





	1. Helena's wedding

There she sat, Aerilyn Dawson, sitting at a table in the Great Hall with her sister Mira, waiting for the ceremony to begin. Today was her sister Helena's wedding. She should've been happy for her sister, to marry the man of her dreams. Except that that man, Kadin Torsa, shouldn't at all be a man of anyone's dreams. Aerilyn knew what he was like, she had seen his bad sides, yet she would not ruin this day for her older sister. Perhaps, Aerilyn thought, this man would never be so bad to Helena. Perhaps she had been the problem, she knew she was different than her sisters..

'Aerilyn!' Mira whispered from behind her hand 'Pay attention! They're coming and we're up in a second!' There she was, Helena Dawson, oldest daughter in their family, and heir to the family's crown. A crown, yes, the Dawsons were royalty. Not that that was anything of importance in the world, because the Kingdom of Faedel had conquered all of Tesha, including Hiane, the district that was theirs. Helena looked beautiful, her long, wavy hair woven into a loose fishtail braid, decorated with pearls and pastel flowers. Kadin carefully removed a lock of her dark hair from her face as they strode down the large stairs inside the Great Hall with a smile. Mira stood up, and Aerilyn followed her little sister to the stairs. The girls were quickly joined by many other girls, all dressed in pastel-tinted dresses. When Helena and Kadin sat down on a bench covered with blue rose petals, Aerilyn signaled the band to start. A small girl played flute, while a few sang and two were backing vocals. But a dozen girls, including Aerilyn and Mira, started the ceremonial dance. 

In a swirl of colorful pastel dresses matching hers, Aerilyn tried to focus on the dance instead of how Kadin watched the girls dance. Pervert, she thought, he better be very nice to Helena, or I’ll chop his head off. At the end of the dance, the small girl with the flute walked to the pair. She circled her hands in various directions, symbolizing the Earth, eternity and the bond they’d have after the rest of the wedding ceremony. She pulled a rose from her golden hair, braided into a crown upon her head, and brushed it along their cheeks. She then planted the rose in Kadin’s hand, who as the girl walked away, carefully placed the rose in Helena’s hair. Another beautiful sound, of which instrument she didn’t know, announced the arrival of the High Priest of Tesha. As the royals of Hiane, it was nothing unusual that the High Priest of Tesha would perform Helena’s wedding ceremony. Everyone stood up as the old and skinny priest, dressed in white, strode toward the altar. He was accompanied by a tanned young man, whose long hair made him look like an elf, and a beautiful young woman, who, if Aerilyn remembered correctly, were his son and daughter. They resembled him quite well, with their amber eyes and sharp cheekbones. The High Priest stood before the young couple, whose backs were now turned to the guests, as he spoke with an ancient voice. Aerilyn knew that he was reading from the Illa, the Holy Book. She had never had the time to study the ancient language the Illa was written in, yet it felt as if she understood every word the priest said. When he finished speaking and would officially make the bond solid, Aerilyn caught the daughter of the High Priest staring at her, face neutral, yet there was something in her eyes she couldn’t place. After the ceremony was completely finished, the newly weds were congratulated and the party had begun, Aerilyn found herself approached by the young woman.   
Asha, she introduced herself. ‘Let’s talk somewhere private,’ Asha said. Not waiting for a response, she pulled Aerilyn from the bar to the hallway and in a big broom closet.   
‘Let me.. What do you want from me?!’ Aerilyn shouted, not bothering to be quiet in any way. ‘Shh, please, let me explain, but keep quiet! This is not just for anyone’s ears, so please just shut up and listen.’ Aerilyn kept quiet and studied the face of the woman. Unreadable. Asha let go of Aerilyn’s arm and pinched her nosebridge.   
‘I know that you do not like Kadin Torsa, but this goes further than that. A week ago, one of his older brothers destroyed a chapel in Gudela, in the South of Tesha. They killed all the priests and priestesses, and a hundred Illians.’ Tears filled up Asha’s eyes and Aerilyn clenched her jaws closed. How could they, she couldn’t believe she ever fell for a Torsa…


	2. Torn dress and a meat fork

‘What do you want me to do about this then? This is horrible, but I don’t see why you’ve come to me.’ I said with a soft frown. Asha sighed and continued. ‘Look, your parents are sitting there,’ She pointed at a big table where the king and queen of Hiane were sitting, along with the parents of Kadin. ‘Today, they’re here. But if they’re not, one day, your sister will take over.’ All pieces fell together. If mom and dad were murdered, and he’d kill Helena too, Kadin would be king. His family was already taking over Gudela… ‘We must go back or we’ll cause a commotion. Your sister might be looking for you.’ Asha followed me back into the Great Hall and took me to her father, the High Priest. I curtsied and his son offered me a chair. ‘Please, Aerilyn, sit down,’ the High Priest said. His son said ‘I am Noah, nice to meet you.’ He shook my hand and bent forward. ‘There is not a lot we can do to stop this now, anymore,’ he said. The High Priest was deep in thoughts, and I knew that Asha hadn’t told me everything. Which was probably for the best. Asha stood behind me and pinched me softly in the shoulder. ‘Your boyfriend?’ she asked as she pointed with her head toward a rather known young man. Elijah Torsa.

I stood up from my place as our eyes locked and I strode toward him. He extended his hand. ‘May I have this dance, milady?’ I nodded cautiously as I put my hand in his and he guided me to the dancefloor. He placed one hand around my waist while the other was still locked with my hand. I put my hand on his broad shoulder. ‘Long time no see Elijah,’ I said ‘What’ve you been up to lately?’ He shrugged casually. ‘Nothing much, just some business in the South.’ Sure. Business. He had destroyed a chapel and killed who knows how many lives! I had to keep calm, today was not the day I told myself. I’d get back at him for what he’d done. Just not today. What I could, and certainly would, do is warn him. I can be nice if I want to. I stood on my toes and brought my lips to his ear. ‘You might want to watch your back.’ I kissed his neck and walked away.

I wasn’t feeling like sitting alone, so I walked over to the buffet where Mira was just about to pile up food on her plate. ‘Hey sis,’ she said when I stood next to her, not bothering to look away from the delicious chicken. A big meat fork was pierced through the chicken, and there was a small knife to cut the meat. I was just about to grab some of that chicken when a scream alarmed everyone to the middle of the Great Hall. I couldn’t see from where I was what was going on, so I scanned the hall. I saw people running for the stairs and the emergency exit, and someone had fainted. I also saw Asha running out of the hall, her red stained hand pulling her father after her. The High Priest seemed…broken. I stepped on my toes to check what was going on, and I caught a glimpse of a man dressed in black with a mask, holding a knife. Mira grabbed my arm. ‘Isn’t that Kadin?’ she asked. I was immediately alert, but she wasn’t pointing at the man dressed in black. She pointed at the shadow that crept behind the stairs, holding a dagger, and staring at my father! ‘Get Helena and hide! Go to the bathroom, I’ll see you there.’ She dropped her plate and ran to Helena, who was also scanning the hall, probably for us. Helena saw Mira, and then me. I nodded, and she nodded back. I turned around, put the plate somewhere on the table and I yanked the meat fork from the chicken.

It was a chaos in here. A few guards had the big man dressed in black under control, but there were also a few wounded. Guards were running everywhere, making sure everyone got out of the hall. Women were screaming and some fainted. Guards lifted the girls from the ceremonial dance and brought them somewhere safe. I finally found Kadin after a while, he was halfway the hall to dad. I lifted the hem of my dress and ran. I ran around tables, glasses fell, my dress got stuck under a table and I tore it loose. Great. Shit, I thought, Kadin is 5 meters away from dad, and I am running from the opposite direction, at least 25 meters away. I ran harder and ignored the pain in my lungs. I saw that Kadin was 2 meters away from dad.1 meter. He lifted the dagger up in the air, his eyes shimmering with a violent light. I jumped and plunged the meat fork through his chest, straight through his heart. Mom screamed, dad yelled some orders, and Kadin dropped the dagger. He choked up some blood, landing on my dress, before he fell to the floor. Mom tried to pull me away from the hall, but I shook my head, grabbed Kadin’s dagger and ran for the bathroom.


	3. Black blood

I ran into the bathroom and pulled the door close behind me and pressed my eyes shut. I panted heavily, so I took a few deep breaths. When my heart rate had steadied, I dared to open my eyes. My mouth fell open as I saw Mira sitting next to a guy- A GUY?!- on the floor of the ladies. But that was not what was worrisome. Well, not the _most_ worrisome. What made me run to them and almost push the guy’s shoulder away, was that I recognized the rose. The white rose from the ceremony… The white rose from Helena’s hair that was now laying on the wet floor beneath the sinks. The petals were crumpled and seemed lifeless. Like death had come across them. Right in front of them was Helena, laying on the floor. I wasn’t sure what her condition was, because she was laying there as if she were dead. Except for that she was breathing and that her eyes were widely opened. Her brown eyes seemed greyer than usual, and I had no idea what had happened. So I pulled at Mira’s shoulders and lifted her chin upwards, forcing eye contact with my younger sister. Her face was dripping despair as she shrugged and pulled me on the floor, in the empty space between her and the stranger. Ignoring the stranger, I shook her shoulders and asked: ‘What happened Mira?’ But she did not answer, she looked at the floor, at Helena’s hand. The veins in her hand were…Black. ‘Mira, what happened?!’ I yelled this time. ‘Look okay, it’s my fault!’ Mira yelled as she pulled at her head. ‘I shouldn’t have let her get in here first! Not at her wedding day, when all the vicious spirits’ eyes are pointed at her!’ Mira closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. ‘I told her to go in while I grabbed the weapon of an unconscious guard. I thought that we’d maybe need it, but I shouldn’t have left her alone.’ She shook her head and carefully touched Helena’s colorless hand. The stranger turned to me, the hood concealing his eyes. ‘Help me lift her, I know someone who can save her.’ _Save her_. A shiver ran down my spine as I grabbed her legs while the stranger held her beneath her shoulders. Mira walked in front of us and made sure the coast was clear. She gasped as we walked through the Great Hall, and she saw blood and a few people laying on the floor. Someone had bothered to put Kadin’s dead body on a chair, the meat fork still struck through him. Mira shot me a look, but didn’t say anything. Mira ran the few meters outside the building and led us towards an empty carriage. They had run away, but left the poor horses here. Awful. The stranger and I put Helena in the carriage. ‘Sit, I’ll bring us there.’ he said.

Helena’s veins had become black up until her elbow now. I was silent, because I knew it was _not_ Mira’s fault. It was mine. I had killed Helena’s husband, when they hadn’t even been married for a full day. Of course I would tell Mira what had happened, but I knew she knew. The carriage then took a rather familiar road, away from the castle, into the forest. I recognized this place.. We came to a stop a few miles later, exactly at the mansion of Mrs. Laudinse. The stranger opened the carriage and helped Mira and me out, and then called some guards to safely bring her inside. He also assigned someone to bring the horses to the stables to be fed. Wow, I thought, this guy must be of importance that he can order people around in Mrs. Laudinse’s grounds. Mira had never been here before, so I entwined my fingers with hers. We walked up the stairs towards the entrance of the mansion, and were easily led in. In the hall, Mrs. Laudinse was already awaiting us. ‘Nice to see you again, dear.’ she said.

Mrs. Laudinse led us to her workplace, which was a big room with bookshelves at the walls. In the middle was a round, operation table. Helena was lying there, still breathing luckily. Finally, the stranger took his cloak off, revealing his eyes and a small scar above his brow. Mrs. Laudinse grabbed a tray full of colorful potions from a small desk besides her operation table. The stranger disappeared in the maze of bookshelves and returned with a pile of books in his arms. ‘Thank you Lucas. Can you open that book?’ Mrs. Laudinse said as she pointed at a dusty green book in his arms. _Lucas_. I bite my lip. I’ve heard of a Lucas before, but who was he? I tried to study his unfamiliar face as he placed the books on the small desk and opened the green book for Mrs. Laudinse. While she was reading the book and selecting herbs, Lucas walked over to Mira and me. ‘I’ll call for someone and have you led to a room. So you can freshen up in the meanwhile.’ he said. He then cautiously brushed his fingers along a scratch on Mira’s face, making my sister’s body tense. Lucas walked away and called a lady to escort us. The woman brought us to a guest room on the first floor. We walked through a long hallway, with a white carpet. The walls were emerald green, decorated with golden flowers. The lady showed us our rooms and then left us alone.

When I was sure she truly was gone, I pulled out Kadin’s dagger from the bodice of my dress and threw it on the bed. Mira’s eyes were big and she pointed at the dagger. ‘Wha—’ 

I didn’t give her any time to ask anything. ‘It’s not your fault, Mira. I killed Kadin.’


	4. Digging up old stories

‘Aerilyn you did what?!’ she yelled. ‘Shh, listen to me and I’ll explain.’ I said and I grabbed her shoulders and guided her to her bed. When she sat down, I took a deep breath and explained everything. From Asha’s words to the bloody meat fork. ‘Even I know this was a planned attack, and you’re the strategic one of us three.’ Mira said leaning her head in her hands. ‘And what about mom and dad? Are they safe now?’ she asked. ‘I can only hope they are. Kadin knew of the safety plans we had in case something would go wrong, so there’s a chance his followers know too. That’s why I told you to go to the bathroom instead.’ Mira stood up and pulled me in a tight hug. ‘I’m scared for Helena, Aerilyn.’ I stroked her head and let her lean into me. ‘I met Mrs. Laudinse when I was young and had gotten into a fight with Kadin. I ran away from home into the forest, but got bitten by an animal. Luckily, Mrs. Laudinse scared the beast away and took me to her mansion. She healed me from whatever poison had intoxicated me. She saved me from death, she can surely safe Helena. Don’t worry.’ I closed my eyes and saw the shimmering black eyes looking down at me again. ‘Let’s get changed.’ I said.

An hour later, we met Lucas in one of the hallways. ‘She is stable now, but she needs time to fully recover. The black blood is gone now.’ Lucas said. ‘Do you know what caused this?’ Mira asked concerned. Lucas shrugged. ‘We think it was a combination of factors.’ He walked past us and disappeared in a room. I had selected a simple grey tunic and black pants. I found a brown leather belt and a cloak. I would ask Mrs. Laudinse to watch over Helena while I’d check on our parents. In her workplace, they had now moved Helena to a bed in the corner. Her arm had gained color and her eyes were shut. She was luckily still breathing. I felt the tension in my shoulders decrease. ‘You should go check on them.’ I turned around and saw Mrs. Laudinse approaching us. ‘She will be fine, but needs at least a few weeks. Go check on your parents and I will take care of Helena.’ Lucas walked in as well. ‘Let me lead you to the stables, Aerilyn.’ I shook my head and looked at Mrs. Laudinse again. ‘I found him on the steps of my mansion when he was a baby, Aerilyn. You can safely trust him.’

The walk to the stables was quiet. Mira wanted to come along, but since Lucas was sent with me, I insisted she’d help Mrs. Laudinse. ‘This is Sabrina.’ Lucas said. He led a beautiful merry out of one of the boxes he had opened. He offered a hand, to help me get on the horse or something I guess. Ignoring the hand, I got on Sabrina’s back before he could blink. ‘You know how to ride a horse?’ he asked. I grinned. ‘Of course Lucas. Now hurry and let’s go.’ I led Sabrina out of the stable, not bothering to wait for Lucas. But to my amazement, he was just as fast. ‘Okay then, let’s go princess.’ Lucas said. He took off to the West. I checked the dagger and chased him into the golden sunset.

Our horses ran until it got darker and we had to stop. I was hungry, and I sensed that Sabrina wanted food as well. ‘We should set up a camp here. Take these.’ Lucas threw two apples at me. I got to the ground and gave Sabrina an apple. I put my own teeth in the red fruit hungrily. From his horse, I saw Lucas smiling at me. ‘Mwhart?’ I asked mouthful. He strapped the ropes of the horses to trees and shook his head. ‘I thought you were supposed to be a princess, you know, the kind that has manners.’ I chewed and swallowed. ‘Well, sorry to disappoint. But I am no princess. Besides, we’re in a forest and I’m starving. So I actually do not care.’ He smiled again and took a bite of his apple. When I had finished my dinner, I went into the forest to find some wood. When I came back, Lucas had already created a small flame. I put the wood on the fireplace and sat down. Shivering, I pulled my cloak tighter around me. ‘Try to sleep. We’ll leave in the early morning.’ Lucas said. He laid down and closed his eyes. I did the same, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remove the images of this morning from my head. So much had happened today… We were supposed to be drinking wine and be having a great feast now. Dancing and singing. Somewhere in the night, while watching the stars, I eventually fell asleep.

‘Wake up, Aerilyn! Wake up! We have to go, now!’ Lucas yelled as he distinguished the fire and loosened Sabrina’s rope. He had to really keep Sabrina calm or she’d run away. Lucas got on Sabrina’s back and helped me sit behind him. ‘Hold on tight.’ He said as he took off into the night.


	5. An ugly monkey butthead

I clamped myself against Lucas’ warm body and I could feel his heart race. Sabrina galloped through the forest at a high speed. I hid my face against his back while the cold air blew against us. I didn’t dare to look back. I felt like something had been following us, but I did not want to find out what. Suddenly, Sabrina neighed hard and with loud screams we fell off her back. Sabrina reared and galloped away. ‘Oww, Lucas..’ I mumbled. ‘Get up, Aerilyn. We need to get out of here.’ He held my hand helped me get on my feet. ‘Did we hit something?’ I asked him while rubbing my head. ‘No, Sabrina wanted to get rid of us, I guess.’ he said softly as he looked in the direction in which Sabrina had left us. ‘Stupid horse… Wait, why did we run? Lucas, talk to me.’ I grabbed his arm when he turned away. ‘We need to get away Aerilyn. There was something, not an animal, that had attacked my horse. I woke up and found _half_ of my horse behind the tree,’ he said, ‘I heard a growl in the far distance, and I knew it’d come back.’ Lucas then pulled his arm back and pulled me close to him. ‘There’s a village close, we’ll have to hide there and hope the beast won’t come there.’ he whispered.

We walked through the dark forest. I was scared, and although he would probably never admit it, Lucas was scared as well. I could only think of the monster that had attacked me when I was barely ten years old. And I kept seeing Kadin’s dead body, and Elijah… I saw Elijah doing terrible things to my parents because I killed Kadin. ‘I think we’re almost there,’ Lucas pointed at faint lights in the distance. ‘Let’s g-’ I pushed my hand on my mouth and pinched him. Lucas turned around very quick. Quick enough to also pull the two of us behind a tree. I pressed my eyes shut, and my heart raced. No not this again, I thought. Lucas hid us. Hid us from the beast, the monster, at the small lake just after the trees. The beast that had haunted my dreams since that day. The beast that was now eating the flesh from Sabrina’s ribs. I didn’t dare to breath. ‘On three, we run. Okay?’ Lucas whispered so quiet I could barely understand what he said. I nodded. ‘One. Two. Three!’ We ran and ran and I couldn’t look back. Until we had reached the edge of the forest, and we came across the road that led us to the small village. Then, Lucas let go of my hand. I slowed down and turned around. He stood there, facing the monster that was half his length, but seemed much, much stronger. Lucas’ arm reached to his back and he pulled his sword from the sheath. The beast roared and Lucas screamed. Lucas ran towards the monster and avoided it’s claws. He barely escaped it’s lethal teeth and rolled behind the beast, ready for another attack. But the beast turned around, facing me. It’s black eyes laughed at me, and he revealed his red teeth. His fangs gleamed from the blood and the poison. He scraped his red-stained claws along the ground. The gods had saved me once. I didn’t believe they’d be here the second time. ‘Hey! Look here you ugly monkey butthead!’ Lucas yelled. He threw a rock at the beast’s head, what only annoyed him more. He turned to Lucas again, but bent through it’s knees. _Shit, it’s gonna jump_ I thought. And it did jump. The monster landed on top of Lucas and the only thing separating Lucas from his death was the sword with which he held the fangs away from his face. ‘Run Aerilyn! Run!’ Lucas screamed. I heard Lucas groan, and I knew that whatever I was going to do, I had to do it fast. So I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I ran as fast as I could. I was almost there when I pulled the dagger out of my belt. I leaped and landed on the back of the creature. I pierced the dagger through his head so far, that the tip stuck out towards Lucas’ face. Instantly the beast fell down. Lucas had to roll away in order not to get hit by my dagger. Panting, I got off the beast’s back and lifted Lucas so he could stand. ‘I hate you,’ I said as I buried my face in Lucas’ chest. ‘Did you really think I would run off? Next time we’ll fight together.’ He put his arms around me and said in my hair: ‘Thank you. I hope there won’t be a next time.’ But both of us knew better than that. I laughed. ‘Besides, which hero would call a monster an, what did you say again, an ugly butthead?’ He let go enough to look me in the eyes, semi-serious. ‘No no no, an “ugly monkey butthead”. That’s what I said. That’s the only thing I could think of. I guess I kind of panicked when he turned to you…’‘Shh. I think we should go now. Sabrina is also dead and we’ll have to get another way of transport.’ I said. ‘Plus perhaps we’ll need sleep and food because we’re humans?’ Lucas chuckled. ‘Perhaps. Let’s go, I am indeed kind of tired.’ I already walked away. ‘Wait, Aerilyn. Aren’t you going to take your dagger with you?’ Lucas asked. I looked over my shoulder at his face, then at the carcass of the monster.

‘No, it was never mine anyway.’


	6. My brother

We got into the town, that according to the sign was called Filimoore. We were just past the gates when we saw the big clocktower. It was past three in the night. The night breeze made me shiver. Lucas entered an inn. The old man behind the desk was sleeping in his chair. Couldn’t blame the man. ‘Ahem.’ Lucas knocked on the table until the man was awake. ‘Uhm, excuse me. Good night, how may I help you?’ the old man asked. ‘We’d like a room, sir.’ I said. The man frowned and narrowed his eyes. ‘Are you two married?’ he asked. ‘No.’ Lucas and I said in sync. ‘Then I am afraid I cannot give you a room. You see, I only have one room left, and I want to keep the reputation of my inn high.’ The man said and sighed. ‘Excuse me, sir,’ I said and I approached the desk. ‘My brother and I are travelling to our parents, but we’ll have to spend the night here. Could you please give us that room?’ I asked on my sweetest. ‘Oh I am sorry. Of course you and your brother’, he looked at Lucas, ‘can stay here. We get many lovers you know. And we don’t want a mess.’ The man gave us a rusty key , we paid him some gold and he told us where the room was. ‘Well sis, good job you did in there,’ Lucas said, ‘but ehm..’ He looked around and made sure that no one was near. ‘You’ve met that creature before, haven’t you?’ he asked softly. I opened the door with our key and walked in. Lucas shut the door behind him and kept his back pushed against the door. ‘Haven’t you, Aerilyn?’ I fell on the bed and closed my eyes. ‘Yes Lucas, I have met that creature before. Almost eight years ago. I was in the forest close to Mrs. Laudinse’s house. I ran from home. I got attacked by the beast. It bit me. It scarred me, Lucas.’ I roll over on my belly and lift the hem of my tunic. ‘Look,’ I say softly, ‘he scratched my back and poisoned me. If Mrs. Laudinse hadn’t found me, I would’ve ended up worse than Sabrina.’ I turned back around and sat upright against my pillow. ‘I knew I recognized that gleam in your eyes. Vengeance.’ Lucas said. I stared at him from my bed as he still stood there, with his back pressed against the door. Awkward. ‘Goodnight,’ I said and I pulled the blanket over me.

The early rays of sunlight shone through the window in my face. I woke up but didn’t want to leave my bed yet. I kept thinking about my parents and Helena. I also wondered where the High Priest had gone, along with his children. I’ll hear it when I get home, I thought. I got out of my bed and stretched. Though the bed wasn’t very nice, I had at least gotten some rest. Lucas was still sleeping, so I walked to the window. Although it was early in the morning, many people were on the streets already. People opening their shops, rushing to work and some were on their way to the temple. She, as second daughter of the Dawsons, had had the luck to see the beauty of Hiane’s villages as well. Something she surely would show her sisters one day. A group of men with scarfs and hoods caught my attention. They seemed to be protesting. They were screaming and waving with flags. When they rounded the corner, I was able to read what was written on the flags. _Traitor in the castle! Jealous witch! An eye for an eye!_ I should’ve seen this coming, I should’ve known there’d be consequences. ‘We should go, and make sure to cover up your face.’ I turned around too rapidly and found Lucas standing three inches from me. ‘Ahum yep,’ I said and I pushed Lucas away to move away from the window and grab my stuff. I didn’t want it to be mean, but I wanted to make sure not to give him any wrong signals. He was handsome and all, but I couldn’t have this right now. I pulled my cloak around me with a sigh.

We were headed to the other edge of town, the old man from the inn had told us there was a farm just outside the village where we might be able to get some horses. We were passing the crowded square and I had to keep my face down. In the middle of the square, I recognized Elijah… He held a speech about his brother, and about the murderer. It was obvious nobody actually knew who they were: just pawns in the game of the King of Faedel. It is because dad and the ruler of Wuether are friends, that the King must have ordered for his murder. Wuether is a smaller country, along the southern border of Tesha. Faedel hasn’t yet been able to conquer Wuether, and although the country is smaller, many rumors go that they’re the ones who will lift Faedel’s rule. Suddenly, I make eye contact with a hooded person across the street. Something in the eyes changes, and the stranger starts to approache us. I can’t run, I think, that will only be more suspicious. I must lose him in the crowd. So I grab Lucas’ arm and disappear in the crowd. We walk through a few narrow streets and slow down when I am sure the stranger hasn’t followed us here. 

‘Great seeing you again, Aerilyn,’ says a voice.


	7. Leaving Filimoore

‘Great seeing you again, Aerilyn,’ says a voice. It did not come from behind us, but from the further darkness of the small street. The stranger emerges from the shadows and pulls the hood back. It was Asha. ‘Good to see you too, Asha,’ I say, ‘but what happened back there?’ ‘Straight to the point I see. Who is.. your new friend?’ she nodded at Lucas. He lifted a hand as a lazy wave, but didn’t bother introducing himself. ‘He can be trusted, he saved my sister,’ I answered her. Asha’s brows rose, but she didn’t ask. Her eyes went dark as she started to explain. ‘My dad, uh, the High Priest, was briefing your parents in about recent events. Why, I do not know. My brother and I were standing there just talking. But then, Noah saw the henchman in black approaching and he had noticed the knife in his belt. The man tried to kill your father, but Noah… he stepped in front of it and tried to fight the man,’ she explained as a tear rolled over her cheek. ‘He didn’t survive the attack, Aerilyn.’ Asha cried and she fell into my arms. I was a little overwhelmed, but I stroke her hair and hugged her tightly. She dried her tears and asked where I had gone with Helena and Mira. I didn’t have the intention to give away the location of Mrs. Laudinse’s house, so I lied and said we had gone to a farm outside town. I did tell her about the attack of the monster, because I thought she might know what creature it was. ‘Sounds like you two have fought a ridderak.’ Asha said. I looked at Lucas. _A ridderak?_ My eyes asked him. _I don’t know.._ and he shrugged a little. We walked back onto the crowded streets and followed Asha. Closer to the town square than I found comfortable, we stopped. ‘Wait here,’ and she disappeared. ‘I don’t trust her,’ Lucas said, ‘How can you trust a stranger?’ I turned y head to him and looked him in the eyes. ‘I think I must be a fool then, because aren’t you a stranger to me too?’ I asked him. ‘No this is different. Don’t you feel a negative aura around her?’ he asked me softly, afraid someone would hear. ‘I don’t know, Lucas. But right now, she knows the location of the High Priest and perhaps of my parents as well. We don’t really have a choice, you see.’ 

After a few minutes, Asha returned and took us to the edge of town. A small carriage was waiting there, and she told us to get inside. As we sat and Asha took the reins, the crowd of angry people got to the gate. ‘Get down!’ Lucas said. I hid my face and got as flat as I could on the seat of the carriage. ‘Are they gone?’ I asked after a minute. ‘Not yet, but I’ll tell Asha that we must leave now.’ I kept low as he opened the small window and told Asha to leave. I felt that we were moving, and after a while, when I was sure the crowd was far behind us, I dared to sit upright again. Avoiding eye contact, I stared outside. I could see the dark forest behind Filimoore. I wondered how far we were from home, because of the ridderak we had gotten of route.

‘Why did she send you with me?’ I asked Lucas. We were now according to Asha halfway there, and had stopped a while ago to drink at a pond. Lucas didn’t respond. When I turned my face away from the window, I caught him staring at my face. ‘I came looking for you and your sisters,’ he said, ‘because Mrs. Laudinse told me to do so. She overheard rumors about a possible attack. Plus she needed a favor of the king. I couldn’t talk to your father because.. Well you know.’ Mrs. Laudinse had told him to come? What favor could such a powerful woman need from my father?

We saw Hirae, capital of Hiane, in the distance. As we approached the great city, we saw dark plumes lingering over the city. Smoke filled the air so thick I could see Asha coughing. The gates of Hirae were opened and unguarded. Birds lay dead on the streets. Asha stopped to put on a scarf. The streets were empty, shops were abandoned. It seemed as if everyone had left the outer rings of the city… Asha drove us to the center of the city. I had already wondered why I wasn’t able to see the towers of the castle. They were hidden away in the ash and smoke. The closer we got to the center, the colder my blood got. ‘O god,’ Lucas said. People lay dead on the streets. Burned. There were even small bodies.. Bodies of children. We couldn’t get any further with the carriage, so we had to go by foot. I used my cloak to cover my mouth as we passed hundreds of bodies. I had seen several signs painted of doors and walls in blood. That emblem, his tattoo… A tear rolled over my cheek as I realized whose emblem that was. Elijah Torsa.


	8. Red carpets

I felt like I was going to puke my intestines out. I felt sick and dumb. I loved a monster. I knew that his family was horrible, but I had believed that there was some good in his soul. There wasn’t. His black and rotten soul had hurt me, and had now hurt Hirae. He was a mad man, the child of the devil. We ran the last part through the streets into the castle. The door wasn’t locked and Lucas easily pushed it open. That really was not a good sign. Tears started dwelling up in my eyes as I started yelling my parents’ names. I ran up the staircase to their bedroom, but it was empty. The sheets were torn apart and the room was smeared with blood. _They can’t be dead. I won’t accept that until I see them._ Obviously, Elijah had come to Filimoore after attacking Hirae. When they couldn’t find me, they attacked all the rest… ‘Do you have safety bunkers?’ Lucas asked. ‘Yes we do, but they’re from the war and have not been used nor fixed ever since.’ I answered. ‘Still, we should look there.’ Asha said, and she grabbed my arm. We ran down many stairs and through dark hallways. Broken glass and smeared blood was everywhere. Until we entered a dusty door, and we had to light a torch to be able to see. I got some hope, because the stairs weren’t covered in dust anymore. That means that someone had been here, not so long ago.

We quickly ascended all the way, until we came to a split. There were four hallways, all darker than night. ‘Which one do we choose? We have only one torch, so we are not going to split up.’ Asha said. I walked over to the first hallway. ‘Mom, dad, are you there?!!?’ I screamed. No answer. I tried the second one, also no result. Then the third one. I could hear faint voices in the distance, and without hesitating I walked into the third hallway. Followed by Lucas and Asha, we approached the voices as they got louder and louder. We could see lights in the distance, and a heavy door. We ran up to the door and tried to open it. ‘Mom, dad, are you there?’ I asked. ‘Aerilyn! Oh baby, are you all right?’ mom asked. ‘Yes I am, Helena and Mira are safe too. Can you open the door?’ I asked. ‘It’s stuck honey. We’ve tried already.’ dad said. Lucas pulled at the door handle, but it didn’t open. Asha threw her body against the door, but the door didn’t move a bit. ‘Move,’ I said. I stepped back a little and closed my eyes. I focused on Elijah, all the harm he and his followers and family had done. I thought of how many men, women and children lay on the streets of Hirae, dead because I killed a monster. I became furious. I opened my eyes with a loud scream as I kicked the door open. ‘Aerilyn!’ Mom and dad embraced me tightly and I buried my face into their warmth. They let go and mom stroked my cheek. ‘My strong princess, have you been okay?’ dad asked. ‘Yes, thanks to Lucas here,’ I pointed at Lucas, ‘Helena’s life was saved, and mine as well.’ Dad patted Lucas on his shoulder and Lucas flushed by the gesture of the king. ‘True, but you saved me from the ridderak.’ Lucas said. Mom’s eyes went huge, and she locked eyes with dad. ‘We want the story later, we must get out of here first.’ Dad said.

In the bunker, we found the head of the guard, Dasher, sitting on a bench. He was sharpening his sword with a stone. ‘Aerilyn! Dear gods, you are okay!’ he said. He stood up and gave me a tight hug. As kids, we grew up together. He as the son of dad’s best guard, and I as a princess. We had been best friends for our whole lives, and he had asked dad to become my personal guard when I became eighteen. During the attack, he guarded exits with the other guards and brought mom and dad to safety. ‘Thank you, Dasher, for keeping my parents safe. And being alive as well.’ I whispered in his ear. ‘Thank you Aerilyn, for killing Kadin.’ he said back. I grinned and let go. ‘Do you have any idea of what happened while you were here?’ Lucas asked my parents. ‘No,’ dad said, ‘though we heard awful screams yesterday. I fear the worst.’ ‘You should see this for yourself, your Highness.’ Asha said sadly. We took my parents and Dasher back up the stairs and all the corridors until we came across the dusty door again. We stepped into the castle and I heard mom gasp. I led us to the third floor, to the throne hall. We walked through the hall, dead guards lying around. Also some people with black masks. Followers of the Torsa’s. We got to the balcony and mom clenched dad’s arm. ‘Awful.’ Dasher said. Pain was readable on his face, and I knew he wondered about his family. The streets were empty, and bodies lay everywhere. ‘Get all the guards and maidens from the hideouts ready, everyone will look for survivors.’ dad said.


	9. The search

The next morning, Dasher and dad had made five search teams. To the North, East, South and West sides of Hirae. The fifth team would patrol the center. I was at first not allowed to join, but I insisted, and dad said it’d be okay, if I stayed close to Dasher. I didn’t get a chance to speak to Lucas about in whose team he was, but he wasn’t in ours. ‘Okay team, we are going to search for survivors on the Eastern side of Hirae. Mount your horses and let’s go.’ Dasher said. So off we went, in the early hours of the day, headed East. I had covered my face with a scarf and the hood of my cloak over it, against the smoke. It had become less than yesterday, but it still wasn’t breathable. When we got to the wall of the city, we stopped and tied our horses there. We had agreed to split up and meet back here in an hour or so. I went with Dasher and another male guard, Jacob. We explored the streets by foot, and entered every house. Luckily, we didn’t find any bodies in the houses, nor blood. But we also didn’t find any people. They must have fled to another part of the city. We then came to a big warehouse and decided to enter together. ‘Shh, I hear something,’ I said focusing on the distant noise I heard, ‘it’s a baby, crying.’ We ran towards where the sounds came from, but paused when the baby had stopped crying. After a while, we heard the crying again and were led to the attic. Several families were sitting there on the floor, scared. ‘Do not fear us, we are sent by the king to find survivors.’ Jacob said. We helped the people stand up and led them downstairs. I was even allowed to hold the baby I had heard crying. With about twenty people, we walked back to the wall.

After leaving the family with Jacob behind at the wall, Dasher and I returned to check the remaining houses. We had found a teenage boy who had lost his parents during the conflict, and a married couple. They had said that most of the people they knew had fled out of the Eastern part of Hirae, and had gone to the South. I just hoped that the team that went to the South had found all those people. We returned to the wall again and saw that the other two groups had found some people as well. We let women and children, or hurt persons, sit on the horses while we started the walk back to the castle. ‘You did a great job, hearing those baby’s cries.’ Dasher said. Although my face was covered, I didn’t dare to blush. ‘I am just glad we found survivors.’ ‘What happened while you were gone?’ he asked. I realized I hadn’t given him the full story yet. ‘We should talk later, perhaps after lunch?’ I asked him. He nodded and gave me a quick smile.

By the time we came back to the castle, three other teams had returned already. Only the team from the South hadn’t returned yet. I hoped that was a good sign. In the meanwhile, mom had made sure the castle was cleaned. At least enough to enable the survivors to cleanse themselves and eat. Dasher and I entered the throne hall, searching for my parents, and we found Lucas in there with them. _The favor_ I thought, what could it possibly be? ‘My queen, king,’ Dasher began, ‘we’ve found fifty survivors in the Eastern part of Hirae.’ Dad was still frowning, that made him look very serious and old. ‘Okay, the Southern crew hasn’t returned yet. I have received great news; king Xavier from Wuether will send troops to help us rebuild Hirae. Also, not the whole city has been destroyed, the Western team came back saying that many people were just fine, and they left them because they were in normal state.’ ‘Father,’ I asked, ‘how many days do you presume it’ll take before the ash clouds will disappear?’ ‘Dear, I can’t say anything with certainty. It might take a few days, but we hope it’s gone soon.’

I left with Dasher, and we were headed to my rooms. I had asked if lunch could be brought to my room, so Dasher and I could talk. I was happy to see they had not destroyed my room. Dasher sat next to me on my bed and we ate together. I told him everything, because of all people, I knew I could trust him the most. ‘A ridderak? Wasn’t that the same creature that attacked you when you were little?’ he asked. I nodded. I remembered when I came home, Dasher was waiting for me back at the castle with my parents. At first, I didn’t even show my scars to my parents. Dasher was the first one to see them. I looked at his face. His brown locks were slicked back, a few strands loose. His dark brown eyes seemed like molten chocolate, and his lips curled into a smile when he caught me staring. He put the serving plate aside and came closer. He cupped my face in his hand and stroked my cheek. ‘I missed you Aerilyn.’ he said. We shared a short, sweet kiss when Asha stormed into my room. ‘Your sisters are here.’ she said out of breath.


	10. Catching up

The three of us ran down hallways and corridors until we reached the lounge. ‘Helena! Mira! I am so glad to see you’re okay!’ I ran up to my sisters and gave them tight hugs. I looked Helena deep in the eyes. ‘Are you okay now?’ I asked her. She nodded. ‘Just a little tired, I simply need rest, Mrs. Laudinse said.’ Mom took Helena to her room, accompanied by a maid. Mira greeted Lucas, Asha and Dasher as well. I was relieved to see they were okay and here with me. As soon as Helena had rested, we’d have a ladies night and I’d tell them everything. Also, in the meanwhile the team from the South had returned. They had only taken the seriously injured, because the South hadn’t been under attack. Many of the survivors could perhaps stay there until the Wuether soldiers had helped us rebuild the city.

I got freshened up and ready for dinner. The dinner hall had been damaged, but there was a minor dinner hall available where we’d dine tonight. After taking a long, good shower, and wearing a simple blue tunic, I went by Helena’s rooms. She was sleeping a lot, and dinner would be brought to her room. After a while, I’d have to talk with dad about the problem. The Torsa’s. I hadn’t told my parents that I saw Elijah demonstrating in Filimoore, not yet. I did tell Dasher, and he convinced me to do tell my parents. When I left Helena’s chamber and was headed to the dining hall, I met Dasher on the way. We walked together, and he held my hand in his. This was new, but I liked it. I rejected Lucas with a reason, I had feelings for another plus I simply saw him as a friend. ‘You smell nice, Aerilyn.’ Dasher said. I smiled back. ‘You look very handsome.’ I returned. We entered the dining hall and sat at the table with mom, dad, Asha, Lucas and Mira. Lucas and Mira seemed to get along very well. My sister blushed when he complemented her, like she did back in the Laudinse mansion. ‘They’re a cute couple, aren’t they?’ mom whispered in my ear. I chuckled and agreed with her. I had missed my mother also so much, although it had only been a few days, barely a week. The fear of the ones I love being in danger hurt me so much… Dad was conversing with everyone at the table, and the frown on his face was gone. My parents were truly happy and in love with one another. I couldn’t believe such a sick man as the king of Faedel, king Thomas Chawell, had such a black heart wanting to destroy my family. Though Hiane was one of the three districts of Tesha, and much smaller than Faedel, our trade made us very wealthy. Faedel had suffered many failed harvests in the North in the past, so they started conquering their neighboring countries. They liked the taste and the king is a monster, so they never stopped.

‘Aerilyn,’ Mira started, ‘you and Lucas were attacked by a ridderak in the Ganei Forest, right?’ I nodded. ‘Ridderaks don’t come close there at all, they live in the mountains. This means someone summoned him. Someone dangerous.’ Lucas added. Dad took the word. ‘We’ll have to look at that later. For now, there is something urgent coming up.’ Mom put her hand on dads hand and looked him in the eyes sadly. ‘The rebellion has always tried to start an uprising against Faedel, but the folk never really dared to do so. In Tesha, that’s because the power of the Torsa’s.’ He took a short pause. ‘So now that their oldest son is killed, the Teshanians dare to protest?’ Dasher asked. ‘No I don’t think so,’ I said, ‘because when Asha, Lucas and I were in Filimoore, there was a huge crowd demonstrating against us. Probably after ravaging here.’ There. I said it. Mom now stroked my shoulder, a caring gesture. ‘Look, Filimoore is where Elijah Torsa has the say. Of course they’re against you. But stories spread quickly, Aerilyn. Many say that you will lead the uprising since you killed Kadin. That you’re Zetor’s Dawn, bringer of light and destruction of the shadows.’ Dad said. ‘Honey, the question now is, will you indeed be Zetor’s, and therefor our, Dawn?’ mom asked me. ‘I won’t only be that mom. They killed our people. I’ll be their nightmare without mercy.’ I excused myself and left the dining room.

The fresh breeze of our spring night cooled my bare skin as I stood on my balcony in my nightgown. Eyes at the moon and swearing threats to the Chawells, I didn’t hear him approaching. ‘I am going with you.’ Dasher said as he closed in on me from behind and put his arms around my middle. I turned around and pushed my head against his warm body. We just stood there for a long while, until Dasher carried me inside, tucked me in and said goodnight.


	11. Uninvited guest

The next morning at breakfast, we received word about the soldiers of Wuether, that they’d be here in about three weeks. Helena still didn’t get out of her room, the nurse said she needed rest. Asha and I went for a morning run through the gardens together, and it was quite a hard thing to do for us both right after breakfast. We came to a standstill at the hill with the blossom tree. My favourite place in the gardens. Still out of breath, I asked her: ‘Where is your father, the High Priest?’ Asha shook her head and waited until she panted less. ‘He is at a safe place right now.’ she said. One of the guards ran up the hill as well. ‘Princess,’ he said while bowing, ‘your father has requested you presence in the throne hall.’ I nodded and he ran off again. ‘Well, so much for our morning run.’ Asha said. I laughed, and we walked back again.

I quickly freshened up and got to the throne hall. My mouth fell open as I recognized at whom everyone was looking so disgusted. Elijah Torsa. ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ I asked a little rude. He threw me a lazy grin and nodded to the king. ‘Ask your father, I’d say, My Love.’ he said. I really had to keep control and not to puke right here right now. I instead looked at dad, whose eyes didn’t sparkle with danger nor excitement, rather with defeat. ‘You are to marry Elijah, or he and his men will destroy what is left of Hirae, and all of Hiane along with it.’ dad said. My head felt like it was going to explode. Mom saw that and quickly undertook action. ‘Aerilyn, you should get changed. There will be a ball tonight at the Torsa mansion tonight, as a celebration of your engagement. She stood up, and led me to my rooms.

‘Mom, I refuse to marry that monster.’ I said. ‘I surely hope that also won’t happen. But for now, you got to play the game so we can come up with a plan.’ Mom kissed my forehead. ‘Let’s find you a sexy dress, because even if you aren’t to marry Elijah in the end, I am sure your future husband would love to see you in.. This.’ mom said as she pulled a red dress from my closet. She winked at me. She knew about Dasher. I flushed and studied the dress. Long sleeves, high neck, deep cut at the back covered with black lace, tight around the waist and loose at the bottom. Very seductive dress. It would be great if I could seduce Elijah tonight and kill him in bed, I thought. ‘No don’t think about that, yet.’ mom said as if she’d read my thoughts. ‘We have to disable his men first, or the plan fails. You’ll have to put up a really good act.’ I sighed and mom left the room.

After my personal maid, Isabella, finished my hair and a little makeup, I was ready for that stupid ball. There was a knock on my door, and I went to open it. Dasher appeared, a sad look in his eyes. Before I let him in, I dismissed Isabella. He sat on my bed, and he was ready for that ball as well. Tux and tie, great looking as always. ‘You are to marry him.’ he said. ‘You know I won’t. He’ll be dead before that ever happens.’ I said as I sat next to him. ‘I know. But just the thought makes me feel sick.’ he returned. He held my hand and looked me in the eyes. With his other hand, he put one of my dark locks behind my ear and kissed me gently. I rested my forehead on his as a tear rolled of my cheek and fell on his hand holding mine.

Elijah helped me get in the carriage. I sat across Dasher, next to Elijah and Asha in the last corner. There were barely any conversations as most of us just stared out of the window. Helena felt a little better and insisted on attending the ball tonight. My body tensed when Elijah put his hand on my thigh. It wasn’t a very big gesture, but enough to mark me as his. Despite of what my mom had said, I hid my dagger in the bodice of the dress. As soon as we arrived in Hirae, I had it made by the Royal Smith. The dagger was beautiful and would be even more precious when pierced into Elijah’s heart. I looked at Elijah and gave him my best fake smile. I was getting sick of this already, and I knew it was killing Dasher. He saw it and had stared more at the setting dusk. When we finally arrived at the mansion, Elijah helped me out and made me hold his arm as we entered his home. In the middle of the arrival hall, an old man turned around. Father Torsa, also known as the infamous Dark Dealer.


	12. Engagement party

The walls of the ballroom were hung with tapestries of old folklores and stories. The ceiling depicted the heavens itself among with the gods and demigods who lived there. Fancy clothed people danced around on song played by a violin orchestra. Father Torsa had congratulated us and led us to the party. Elijah was the oldest son now, and had two younger brothers. They weren’t only stupid, but also ugly and ruthless. Helena was approached from all directions by people condoling her with her deceased husband. She said in silence that she wanted to leave now. But as Elijah put his arms on my hips and led me to the dancefloor, I signaled her I was in the worse position.

He didn’t bother that there were many people around. Elijah just touched my back and my hips and swayed me around the dancefloor. ‘Hahaha, who should now watch their back, My Love?’ he whispered in my ear. Without asking, he spun me around again and caught me before I could fall on the floor from dizziness. ‘My Love please,’ I acted, ‘I am feeling very dizzy right now. Allow me to get a fresh drink and return to you in a few minutes.’ I said. As a couple of hot girls walked past, he easily let go of me. The drink table was in a corner of the ballroom, close to the toilets. From behind, two hands covered my eyes. Dasher. I smiled. ‘We shouldn’t do this here in public.’ I said. He just shushed me. He led me through some doors and when he removed his hands, we were at the toilets. He started touching me everywhere and kissed my neck. I turned around and found Elijah’s brother, the youngest Torsa, standing behind me. ‘Gross.’ was all I said before I dragged him into one of the toilets and drowned him in the toilet. I checked my hair in the mirror before rushing back.

I walked over to Helena. ‘We need to go now. Say you feel sick or something.’ I whispered in her ear. She nodded and walked over to mom, to whom she said she wasn’t feeling well and was going back home with me. I strode over to Elijah and grabbed his hand. ‘My beloved,’ I started, ‘Helena isn’t feeling well. I should return home now.’ He looked me in the eyes and wanted to kiss me, but I pushed him away. ‘I’m sorry, but I get embarrassed easily.’ I tried to say as innocent possible. He just shrugged and found the two ladies again. I looked around the room until I found Dasher, conversing with one of the guards. I walked over and said we had to go home because Helena wasn’t feeling well. ‘Sure, let’s go.’ he said. I plucked Asha away from some handsome guy she was dancing with and almost dragged her to our carriage. We’d leave already, mom, dad, Mira and Lucas would come home later. Once on our way, Helena admitted that she truly wasn’t feeling well and I told them about Yefran Torsa, the youngest Torsa. Well, he was the youngest Torsa. At first, Dasher seemed furious, but when I explained how I knocked him out and drowned him in the toilet, a devilish smirk spread across his perfect face. ‘I hope the rest leaves before the body is found though. Else they might get into trouble.’ Helena said.

Finally at home, we decided everyone should just go to bed early. As soon as I was alone in my chambers and locked the door, I took of the fancy red dress and threw it onto my armchair. With my hands in my hair I walked through my room in circles. After a while, I put on a panty and a tunic. From a secret drawer in my desk I took my some smaller dagger and strapped them at my belt. From beneath my bed, I removed a small yet strong sword and sheathed it on my back. I pulled my cloak tight around me and left my rooms with a sigh.

I blended in with the shadows until I was outside of the castle. Once in the gardens, I ran from bush to bush until I got through the main gate. Sprinting to the forest surrounding Hirae, I tried to fight my thoughts. Another soul lost because of me. Even though the souls were black and rotten from the start, didn’t this blacken my heart as well? I didn’t stop running until I was far enough in forest that I couldn’t see Hirae’s lights anymore when I turned around. I walked past trees and bushes with fruits and nuts. Many twigs cracked, but I didn’t care. I wanted to fight tonight, I couldn’t sleep anyways and this new hunger had awakened inside of me. Through the leaves above me, I could barely see the dark night sky. Bright stars filled the darkness. I came to a small lake. The moon was reflected on the surface of the lake and appeared magical. Magical enough to lure monsters to drink from the water I hoped. I heard something in the bushes behind me and without hesitating, I threw one of the daggers.


	13. Unknown feelings

I turned around with a smile, content with myself and hoping for a fight. But my dagger didn’t hit a monster, it hit Dasher. ‘Dasher NO!’ I screamed when he collapsed on the ground. I ran over to him and put him on his back so I could face him. ‘Dasher, please, stay with me. Why did you follow me and, and…’ I started crying and held his head on my lap. His eyes were wide open but he didn’t say anything. I couldn’t stop feeling regret. For never telling him that I love him. Because now that he was dying, I realized. I dried my tears and caressed his cheeks. His eyes seemed darker now, and his face blueish. Suddenly, his eyes became ink black and his lips curled into a horrifying grin. His teeth were pointy and his skin actually became blue. Within a second, the monster had me turned on my back on the cold ground, his body above mine. While he pinned my throat to the ground with one hand, he removed my dagger out of his chest with the other. In his neck, I recognized a symbol. It was a circle with a horizontal line through it. There were smaller drawings inside the semi-circles, but they weren’t clear enough. When the monster wanted to put his sharp claws in my face, I removed another one of the daggers and stabbed it deep into the monster. He sat upright and tried to remove the dagger with a groan. That gave me time to roll away from him and get on my feet. I drew the small sword I had strapped on my back and ran up to the beast. He saw me coming and clawed out at my legs. I blocked and chopped of his arm. This made him angrier and he clawed at me again. This time I tripped over a stone and he grabbed me. Out of anger he threw me against a tree on the other edge of the lake and I fell in the water.

The cold water was everywhere around me. A rush spread through my body. Adrenaline. I opened my eyes and saw the surface. I saw the blue creature on a stone, staring into the water, searching for me. I didn’t know why I could see this clearly in the water, I saw everything in detail above the surface. Stupid monster. He was only watching the side of the lake where I fell into it, and left his back open. I checked my belt, I still had my third dagger. I had one major chance. Swimming up to the surface behind the monster, I kept him in eyesight. He didn’t turn and was completely unguarded when I came above the surface. I went back into the water and pushed me off the bottom of the lake. I held the dagger above my head and let it come down into his neck while I was in midair. The beast made unhuman growls and tried to remove the dagger. But I had hit an artery and he bled a lot. Within a minute, I was sitting on top of his dead body, on a stone at a lake behind the castle. I removed the dagger from his neck and got off his back. I turned the carcass to the right so I could study the symbol, but it was fading away. I narrowed my eyes but still couldn’t recall what the drawing meant.

I collected my daggers and sword and bathed in the lake to get the blood off me. Most of it had washed away, except from the stains on my tunic. I walked back to the castle while I strapped my weapons back on and wringed out my hair. Well, I wanted a fight and I got one. At least now I’m tired enough to sleep. But although that creature was not Dasher, I still now know that I do love him. I removed my hood just enough so the guards let me in. I quickly got back to my rooms. I threw my wet clothes in a corner and changed into my nightgown. I hid the sword and the daggers again and grabbed another cloak. Was what I was about to do right? I do not know. But I walked through hallways until I reached the door. Hesitating whether I should do it or not, I stood before Dasher’s door. When I gathered all my courage, I knocked on his door. I waited a minute, but the door didn’t open. _This was a stupid idea_ I thought. I had just walked three meters away when I heard him opening his door. His head rounded the corner and his sleepy eyes met mine. ‘Aerilyn? Come in.’ he said. I walked into his room, his familiar room. With his huge collection of books and his big fireplace. He scrubbed his eyes and looked at me. He was dressed in shorts and a white T-shirt. He narrowed his eyes and came closer to me. ‘What happened to you?’ he asked while running his hand on the bruise on my neck from when the creature had me pinned on the ground. ‘I, uh, I fought another creature tonight.’ I said. I sat down on his couch and explained everything, from thinking I hit him to cleaning my weapons. He had given me that sword, a few years ago. It was half of twins swords he had gotten from his family. He had the other half. ‘Never do that again. If you’re looking for a fight, come spar with me. Don’t ever go off into the forest alone again. Promise me that?’ he asked. He pressed his head against mine. ‘I can’t lose you, Aerilyn. I love you.’ I swept his brown locks from his face and kissed him right there. ‘I love you too.’


	14. Head in the clouds

The next morning, I woke up in Dasher’s bed. I sat up and scrubbed my face. Dasher’s snoring made me smile. We had truly found something special last night. But we were still young and decided not to cross the line. Which is why Dasher insisted on sleeping on the couch. ‘Goodmorning handsome,’ I said as I played with his hair. He just moaned and turned his back to me. ‘You have to get up, the preparations for the arrival of the Wuetheranian soldiers are today. Plus, we have to make a schedule with my parents about where which civilians will stay for the coming weeks.’ I said. ‘You know, were being really risky right now,’ Dasher said, ‘because you’re engaged and this will get us in trouble.’ ‘No it won’t, because I won’t actually marry Elijah,’ I said. ‘Still, we should be careful. You need to leave before anyone finds you in my room, with us being barely dressed.’ he returned. ‘You’ve got a point there. I’ll see you later.’ I gave him a kiss and left his room.

After breakfast, I had my morning-run with Asha, but it ended up being a morning stroll. I told her about the blue monster I fought last night. It sounded like a Gnarler, she said. We walked up the hill and paused to do some stretching at the top. ‘Are you going to return to your father soon?’ I asked her. ‘No, not really. I don’t know where he is and he made clear I wasn’t to visit him but to help you. And I’d be glad to assist in killing Torsa’s.’ Asha said. ‘Two down, three more to go,’ she said. We laughed and continued our walk through the gardens of the castle.

I decided to go by Mira’s rooms before my appointment with mom and dad. I knocked on her door and Lucas opened the door. ‘I was about to leave anyway. See you girls later.’ he said before leaving. ‘Mira, what were you two doing here?’ I asked her. She sat on her bed, dressed decently, what relieved me. ‘Nothing inappropriate. I wanted to ask him about side effects of Mrs. Laudinse’s cure. Helena still isn’t feeling better, and is getting tired quickly,’ she said, ‘but we couldn’t find anything.’ I looked at my little sister. She couldn’t be thinking that…? ‘What were you two concluding then?’ I asked. ‘Not the two of us, just me. I think, she might be carrying a baby.’ Mira said concerned.

 _Could Helena be pregnant?_ I asked myself. ‘Honey, are you listening?’ mom asked. ‘I’m sorry, you’ve got my full attention now, Mother.’ We were making schedules and lists about which houses had the space to take a small family in for a few weeks. We’ve luckily had many volunteers. We split the work, so dad, Dasher and Mira were on the preparations for the Wuetheranians. I had told mom and dad about the Gnarler before starting, and they had sent a librarian to search for information on the weird symbol. ‘You must be careful, Aerilyn.’ Mom said. I looked at her. ‘With Dasher. I know the two of you are madly in love, but you must hide it. Just for now. After we’ve dealt with the Torsa’s, you can safely be together.’ ‘Thank you mom, I know it’s very dangerous. I just want to kill Elijah as soon possible, because every minute he breathes, another person dies.’ I said. Mom nodded. We finished the job early and I had to give the list to Jacob. He and other soldiers would bring the survivors to their new temporary homes. Councilman Zarpelt, one of dad’s best friends, stormed in mom’s office. He bowed low. ‘My Queen, Princess,’ he began, ‘I come with the numbers of deceased by the attack. I am also here to tell you the ash cloud has almost vanished.’ Zarpelt gave mom a small pile of papers, and she rushed through them. She frowned at the numbers and her brows rose. ‘Are you sure about these numbers?’ she asked the councilman. ‘Yes, my queen.’ he said. I took a look at the paper and swallowed. Twenty percent of our Hiraenians had passed away. ‘Have you shown this to the King already Zarpelt?’ she asked. ‘No my Queen, I thought I’d ask you where he is because I couldn’t find him.’ he said with his eyes on the floor. ‘Councilman Zarpelt,’ I asked, ‘wasn’t my father in town with Dasher to prepare the arrival of the Wuetheranians?’ He shook his head. ‘I did find sir Ravenvale, but His Highness wasn’t there.’ ‘Alright, you are dismissed Zarpelt.’ Mom said. When he shut the door behind him, mom started walking through her office. ‘Aerilyn, we’re done now, you can do as you please. I’m going to find your Father.’ She said. I gave her a kiss on her cheek and we left her office.

I had to hear it from her. That it wouldn’t be possible. Or that it would. I knocked on Helena’s door, and her personal maid let me in.


	15. Make a wish

Helena sat on her bed, staring outside. The doors to her balcony were wide open and a soft breeze filled her bed chamber. My sisters dark hair was unbound on her back and she wore a simple green tunic with animals pictured on it. In her lap lay a beautiful embroidery, a colorful mix of flowers and leaves in all shades. ‘Did you make that yourself?’ I asked. Helena nodded. ‘I didn’t know you were into embroidering.’ She sighed. ‘There is a lot about me that you don’t know.’ Helena said. I walked through her bedroom to her, and sat down on her bed. I put my hand on hers. ‘Are the rumors true, sister? Are you really carrying a baby?’ I asked her softly. ‘Aerilyn, I don’t know. It’s possible.’ She said sadly. ‘Did you love him?’ I asked warily after a while. ‘Heavens no,’ Helena said, ‘As a matter of fact, this could not be his child.’ I looked at my sister with shock. She’s had a secret lover? ‘Please just tell me you know who the father of your possible baby is,’ I almost begged her. Helena grabbed me by my shoulders. ‘I do, little sis, and he is the man whom I love. But unless I am indeed pregnant, I won’t meet him ever again.’ She said. ‘Rest well,’ I said before I left.

Before dinner, I quickly wanted to check in the library if I could find any books about the weird symbols or the monsters that had attacked me. I walked past many shelves until I came to a section of the Royal Library that I’d never been before. These bookshelves were obviously much older, many books were dusty or dust was swept away partly. The huge windows let in so much light I could count the dust particles in the air. The brown marble floor felt cold through my boots. I kept walking along the wall with the old shelves, until I came across a big collection of books with remarkable symbols on the covers. The most common symbol was a circle with a seven-pointed star in the middle, and dots between the points of the star. I decided to just take a few and perhaps read a little tonight before going to sleep. I also took a book that had a symbol that seemed similar to what I’d seen on the creatures, and a third book with a symbol of the moon and flowers. With these three books in my arms, I left the library.

When I was in my room to get dressed for dinner, Mira and Asha had walked in. They’d helped me to get dressed. Apparently, Elijah, his father and his youngest brother were coming over tonight to discuss the date of the wedding. This would be my first encounter with Elijah after murdering his blood. For the second time. They dressed me up in a grey dress, with small crystals and glitters at the bottom. Isabella had pinned my hair up and decorated it with shiny pins. I had hidden the three books in my closet, just in case. There was a knock on my door. ‘You can get in,’ I said. Lucas opened the door and entered my room. ‘You look very nice Aerilyn. I was asked to escort you to the dining hall.’ I nodded and stood up. After shutting the door behind me, Lucas said: ‘Once the Wuetheranians arrive and fix Hirae, we can build up the army again. You then won’t have to marry Elijah but can murder him right away.’ he whispered. I grinned at that. ‘We’ll have to plan the wedding after the fix of Hirae. Which will be at least two months.’ I said. We were quiet until we had reached the dining hall. Guards opened the doors and we entered. At the head of the table, my parents were sitting. On the other side were Elijah and his dad. The rest was seated somewhere in between. I tried not to look at Dasher although I knew he was admiring my dress of tonight. I walked over to Elijah and planted a kiss on his cheek. ‘My condolences, Elijah,’ I said as lovely possible, ‘for the loss of your younger brother.’ Elijah looked me in the eyes and actually seemed hurt. I must’ve seen that wrong, because a monster like he is doesn’t feel grief. I sat down on a chair next to Asha and greeted the rest of the table, including Dasher. After we were done dining, Mr. Torsa stood up and cleared his throat. ‘We have an announcement to make. The wedding will be held in three months, at the Great Hall!’ he said. We all cheered and clapped. The Torsa’s because of the wedding, but us because of the fact that dad bought the Wuetheranians enough time.

After dinner, Elijah’s brother was too drunk and they’d left immediately. I stood on my balcony with Dasher, staring at the stars. He held my hand, our fingers entwined. ‘Look,’ Dasher said, ‘a falling star. You should make a wish.’ So I closed my eyes. ‘And?’ he asked. ‘Two things: that after three months, Elijah will be dead at our hands and that you and I will be together forever.’ Dasher pulled me closer and put his arms around me. ‘We’ll make both wishes come true.’ he said.


	16. Three months later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 starts here

Almost three months later, I sat alone in my room, waiting for Isabella to bring me the attire of today. Dasher and I hadn’t seen each other more than a few times a week. We’d agreed on not taking any risks until after we had finished what was to be done. Lucas had travelled to Mrs. Laudinse’s mansion and back with a few soldiers and Helena, to ask for side effects. Mrs. Laudinse had confirmed the pregnancy. Shortly before the wedding, the pregnancy would be revealed. Mira and Asha had done research with mom and they’d found the father. So he now lived in the castle since a week or two. Elijah often visited our castle, and slept over as well. Luckily, dad had given him a separate room. ‘Look what I have right here for you.’ Isabella said as she walked into my room. Isabella and I had grown very close these past few months. Her brother had been taken by Kadin, and she wanted the Torsa family just as much dead as we did. The wedding was in two days, so today we had to travel to the Black Peaks, to the first shrine of Tesha. The first shrine was believed to be built by King Lyndon Zetor himself. Isabella held the dress in front of me. It was a light blue dress with silver signs along the hem and the sleeves. ‘Let’s get you in there.’ Isabella said with a smile.

Isabella was just pinning my hair up when Asha entered my room. ‘Wow, you look stunning Aerilyn,’ she said. ‘Thank you, but I can’t breathe.’ I said. Isabella and Asha laughed. ‘So, now you’re ready to go.’ Isabella said when she put the last hairpin in my hair. I carefully stood up and admired myself in my mirror. Wow, I looked very… royal and female. ‘Let’s go, your father has requested your presence before you leave.’ Asha said. We greeted Isabella and Asha took me to the strategy office. Helena sat at the table, right next to mom. Dasher stood in a corner examining a stack of papers. Mira was busy talking to dad while he fixed the bow in her hair. I love that even though dad is the King, he’s still the best father we could wish for. ‘Wow Aerilyn, you look magical.’ Mira said with an exited smile when Asha and I walked in. ‘My beautiful daughter,’ dad said as he planted a kiss on my forehead, ‘come and sit down.’ Helena offered the chair beside her and ignorant of what was going to be discussed, I sat down next to her. ‘Aerilyn, the plan was that you’d kill Elijah on your wedding night. But something urgent came up and we have to change the plan.’ Mom said. Dad nodded and added :’So when we leave for the Black Peaks, he’ll accidently fall off into the darkness.’ I frowned. ‘What caused the change of plans? And what about Father Torsa and the youngest one?’ I asked. ‘They will be taken care of. They will be killed in the carriage before we reach the Peaks. Don’t worry.’ Dad said. ‘Father, you are not answering my question. Why is there a change of plans all of a sudden?’ I asked a little louder. Dad sighed. ‘The Chawells are coming to Tesha for the wedding.’

‘King Thomas Chawell is going to arrive here, in Hiane, tomorrow already?’ I asked Elijah. We were on our way to the Black Peaks now and I had to act like I didn’t know of their arrival. ‘Yes, they’re arriving at my mansion tomorrow morning. They are supposed to stay a week, even after our wedding.’ Elijah said. He placed his hand on mine. Blegh, I thought. I was with Asha and Mira in this carriage, while Lucas was in the carriage with young Mr Torsa and Dasher had to take care of the old Torsa. ‘Seems like we’ve arrived.’ Asha said. The sky was grey like thunderclouds and crows circled above our heads. While Elijah wasn’t looking, I checked my knives on me. One in the bodice, one in the sleeve, one strapped at my thigh and a small one in my boot. ‘Your Highnesses,’ Jacob said with a deep bow, ‘the shrine is over there. The King and Queen will join you shortly.’ Two guards escorted us in the direction of the shrine. We walked up the steep path that led us higher into the Black Peaks. When we were before the shrine, Elijah started to make vows. How he’d make me a housewife, how he’d start a family with me, how I could leave my “worthless” family. When he was finished, he smiled at me lazily. I just returned a wicked grin. ‘King Lyndon Zetor, here I, Aerilyn Dawson, am vowing to you. The promises for my beloved, Elijah Torsa. He whom I will forever despise and hate. I hereby swear on my own respect and life, that he won’t get off this cliff alive.’ Elijah looked at me, confused. ‘This isn’t a time for jokes baby. This is serious.’ he said. In a finger snap, I had him with his back on the stone and sat on top of him, pinning him down. ‘Oh baby,’ I spit out in disgust, ‘I was not joking.’


	17. Ambush

I held Elijah pinned to the ground with one arm, while I seductively fetched the dagger from my thigh with the other one. ‘I knew your sweetness was played,’ Elijah started, ‘because the you I used to love, would never act like that.’ ‘You shut up! You don’t know what love is!’ I hissed in his face. ‘All those lives in Gudela, all those priests and priestesses. You killed them all and you’re trying to say you used to _love_ me?’ His face formed a sickening smirk. ‘At first, it was a bet I closed with my brothers. The first one to wed a Dawson was the best player. I guess Kadin won, yet you killed him.’ I put the dagger at his throat, one move from him and he’d be dead. ‘So it was all a game for you?’ I asked him. ‘I started to love you. But when word came out about me and Kiara and you killed my brother, I had no choice left.’ he said with a hoarse voice. ‘Of course you had a choice! You killed Kiara and thought I’d run back to you.’ I now traced the dagger along his face and made sure to leave a deep cut on the right half of his face. Elijah then pushed me off and I rolled over the stone ground. The guards had left, so we were alone now. Behind me, the ground stopped after about five meters.

We ran towards each other, and he had somehow gotten a long dagger from his suit. Stupid, I thought, this must be a trap. And we walked right into in. I blocked a blow aimed at my leg, but he stopped me from slashing his arm off. I grabbed a second dagger from my sleeve and used both knives to defend and attack. I screamed when he made a deep cut into my left arm, causing me to lose my balance. Elijah pushed me to the ground and pulled me to the edge of the peak. Just half a meter before endless depth, he stopped and sat on me like I had done a few minutes ago. ‘So, it’s a pity really, our children would’ve looked rather stunning I bet. But I guess I got to end things between us here.’ he laughed. Elijah lifted his dagger and looked me in the eyes. He lowered the dagger and blood sprayed everywhere. My dress was soaked and deep red now, the head rolled over the stones. Elijah’s head rolled over the stones. The body collapsed on top of me and I pushed it away. I wiped the blood out of my face to see. Dasher Ravenvale. ‘Aerilyn! Are you okay?’ he asked. He helped me get at my feet and used his sleeve to somewhat wipe my face clean. I nodded at his question. Together, we lifted Elijah’s body and threw it over the edge, into oblivion.

‘It was a trap, wasn’t it?’ I asked Dasher as we walked back to where the carriage was left. Many soldiers lay dead on the ground, many swords too. He nodded. ‘I was able to secure your parents’ and Mira’s safety by pushing them back into one of the carriages. But Helena… one of the henchmen stabbed her in her stomach. We sent her back on a horse with Lucas, but…’ He stopped right there. I grabbed Dasher’s hand. ‘Thank you, Dasher.’ I said. ‘Don’t blame yourself, did the assassinations of the other Torsa’s work out though?’ I asked. He nodded. ‘Asha and Jacob threw the bodies over the edge of the peak, just like we did with Elijah.’ I didn’t let go of his hand when we got into the carriage and drove home.

We got out and rushed to the hospital wing. I looked dirty, blood smeared all over my dress and face and even in my hair. But I did not care. I ran through the castle until I reached the hospital wing, and opened the door. Dasher quickly caught up with me, all the others were inside too. Lucas, Mira, mom and dad. Asha was talking to the doctor a few meters further. They seemed concerned. ‘Mom, dad, how is she doing?’ I asked. Mira hugged me tight and whispered : ‘Helena will be fine, but the baby probably won’t survive.’ As she let go, I made eye contact with mom. She nodded sadly. Helena was under sedation right now, and bandages were wrapped around her belly. I felt tears forming in the corners of my eyes, but I pushed them away. I stroked my sister’s cheek. ‘You’re strong Helena, you’ll get through this.’ My vision became a little vague, and I felt a little dizzy in the head. I heard faint voices recalling my name, but I couldn’t do anything. I just passed out.

When I woke up, I was in my own room. Mira sat next to me on my bed, and Dasher stood by my window. ‘Hey sis, how are you feeling?’ Mira asked. I only groaned. ‘I know you just woke up, but… Helena’s child did not survive, and the father committed suicide,’ she said sadly. I closed my eyes. I couldn’t imagine how Helena must be feeling right now. ‘It’s important you get rest Aerilyn. King Chawell arrives tomorrow.’ Dasher said. 


	18. The Royal arrival

The next morning, Isabella woke me up early to find me a new dress. One that covered a lot. I was patterned with bruises and my left arm was wrapped in bandage. I didn’t look at all like a bride. Well, I didn’t care anymore. All I cared about now was punishing the man who had taken Helena’s happiness by killing her unborn baby. Isabella let me wear my hair down with a few pins in it. The dark blue dress had long sleeves and a long hem. The neck was pretty high as well. Small silvery flowers were stitched on the fabric. My left arm still hurt pretty much, but according to the nurse, it was healing well. I would be left with a rather ugly scar though. There was a knock on my door, and Lucas came in to escort me to the throne room. ‘How’s your arm doing?’ he asked. ‘It still hurts pretty bad, and I still have to wait for another few days before it starts scabbing.’ I said. ‘How is Helena doing now?’ I asked softly. ‘She is still recovering from the surgery to remove the foetus. But she was awake when I saw her an hour ago, she seemed very strong,’ he said, ‘Guess you’ve all got that uh?’ he asked. All I could do is give him a weak laugh.

In the throne room, Mira and I were supposed to stand beside mom and dad’s throne. Dad’s crown weighed down on his brown and hid the grey strands between his dark locks. Mom’s beautiful face was complimented by the small crown she wore over her braided hair. I saw Lucas and Dasher standing along the walls of the throne room, on patrol duty. Asha also stood somewhere in a corner, waiting. ‘I heard they have a handsome son,’ Mira said, ‘Try not to fall for the Chawell.’ ‘It’s better if I’d say that to you,’ I said. Mira giggled softly and shut up when the doors opened. King Thomas Chawell and his wife Queen Diana walked in the front. Behind them, a tall young man walked in with a woman at his arm. Must be Prince Mason and Princess Kathryn. Last to walk in were councilor Zarpelt and Prince Christian. The guards closed the door and I had brief eye contact with Dasher. He just nodded lightly and my shoulders relaxed. ‘King Adam, Queen Sophia,’ the Chawells greeted and bowed. ‘King Thomas, Queen Diana, Prince Mason, Prince Christian and Princess Kathryn. Welcome in Hiane,’ dad said. Mira and I curtsied. I clenched my teeth together to keep me from screaming out in pain. ‘We came here to attend the wedding of Mr Torso and Princess Aerilyn.’ King Thomas said. The way he said “Princess Aerilyn” almost had me puking all over the Chawells. ‘As you’ve probably already heard, the marriage isn’t going to continue,’ dad said, ‘but you are still welcome to enjoy the Festival of Fire next week when summer begins.’ Queen Diana spoke this time. ‘That would be an honour, King Adam.’ 

After we were done in the throne hall, I walked to Helena’s rooms. I knocked on her door, and her petite maid opened up for me again. ‘She’ll be glad to see you, Your Highness,’ she said. I nodded ad walked into Helena’s bedroom. ‘Hi, Helena. How are you holding up?’ I asked my older sister. She sat on her bed, hands on her belly and stared at a picture on her desk. A picture of the man she used to love. ‘I’m… I’ll be okay,’ she said, ‘but for now I really can’t believe how much life has been against me.’ I became sad. Part of that was my fault. I killed her husband, for god’s sake. ‘But,’ she said, ‘I am really happy to have you here with me.’ I sat down next to her in her bed and held her tight. ‘I am so, so sorry Helena,’ I whispered. A small tear fell onto my sister’s hand. ‘Don’t be sorry. If you hadn’t killed Kadin back then, things would’ve been much worse.’ Helena said and she kissed my forehead. I stayed like this with my sister until we both eventually fell asleep, our hands still holding each other.

A soft knock on the door woke me up. I carefully removed Helena’s hand and got out of her bed. On my toes, I walked over to the door and opened up to see who it was. It was almost midnight, who could it be? Dasher stood there. ‘I already hoped I’d find you here,’ he whispered, ‘Can we talk?’ I nodded and closed the door behind me. Together we walked to my rooms. When we were outside, we sat down on my sofa in front of the fire. ‘That attack at the Black Peaks,’ he started cautiously, ‘is suspected _not_ to be from the Torsa’s.’ ‘What? How could that.. What makes you think that?’ I asked confused. ‘First of all, they were more skilled than Torsa could ever pay to get them trained like that. Second, they wore a rare fabric, Spidersilk. Impossible to get that much in Tesha,’ he concluded out loud. ‘Could it be that Chawell sent them?’ I asked. ‘That’s what we’ll need to find out.’


	19. Personal guards

The next morning, I woke up early to visit Helena before attending breakfast. I had discussed the issue with Mira and mom, they said Helena should know. I knocked on her door. ‘It’s open,’ I heard. I walked in, and saw Helena sitting on her chair at her desk, reading a book. ‘Goodmorning Aerilyn,’ she said. ‘Goodmorning Helena,’ I greeted back, ‘What are you reading?’ She closed her book and gave it to me. ‘I got it from Mrs. Laudinse when I was at her place. It’s about cultures of the other countries in Zetor. It has nice information.’ The book had a dark red cover and the title was written in gold. “History of Zetor”. ‘What brings you here so early?’ she asked. I explained what Dasher had come to tell me and why I left Helena in the middle of the night. ‘Also,’ I said, ‘I want to ask you to come have breakfast with us. If the attack truly was from the Chawells, we’ll see their reaction.’ Helena frowned. ‘Won’t they then attack me again, now that killing me failed?’ she asked. ‘They can’t. I’ve also come with a friend, your new personal guard. Meet Lucas.’

I convinced Helena to get dressed and come downstairs for breakfast. We walked off the staircase in the main hall, I still held her hand. She looked beautiful, like a true Queen. She really resembled mom and dad. The guards opened the doors to the dining room, where we also had breakfast and lunch. As I walked in with Helena by my side, guarded by Lucas, the room fell quiet. I released Helena’s hand. ‘Chawells,’ she said and we curtsied before taking place at the table. I sat opposite of Prince Christian. Mom and dad were clearly shocked, yet happy their oldest daughter felt good enough to now join breakfast. ‘Adam, Sophia, you’ve never mentioned that your oldest daughter was so beautiful,’ Queen Diana said. I wore another long sleeved dress to cover up the deep cut in my upper left arm. We ate, talked and laughed. I couldn’t help but look at Prince Christian to catch him staring at me too. His blond hair was slicked to the side and not very long. He had blue eyes that kept looking in my direction. _Don’t_ , I told myself. After breakfast, I walked back with Helena, followed by Lucas and Dasher. Lucas waited outside, while Dasher and I went inside to talk with Helena. ‘They’ve discovered a small tattoo on the back of those henchmen. Do you recognize this symbol?’ he asked Helena. She nodded a no. It was a cross with the letters R, W, F and N in every corner. ‘Okay, thanks Helena. Rest well,’ I said as we left her rooms.

‘I am your personal guard now, officially,’ Dasher said as we walked to the library together, ‘Jacob was assigned to Mira and Lucas now guards Helena.’ ‘Well, I surely am happy to have you as my personal guard,’ I said giggling. The library was empty, except for the few librarians. ‘What are we looking for?’ I asked while we walked past a few bookshelves. ‘Books about crimelords. Perhaps there is some old gang that we don’t know that is after your family,’ he said. We took a few books and asked some librarians for help. After a few hours, we had searched a dozen books together, but we found nothing.

That evening, Asha wasn’t present at dinner. After finishing my meal, I excused myself and decided to go look for her myself. She wasn’t in her rooms and also not in the library. I was just on my to the spar rooms, when I found her sitting on a bench in the garden. ‘Hey,’ I said as I walked over to her. She looked up in shock, and wiped her tears away when she saw it was me. ‘O Asha, what is going on?’ I asked as I sat beside on the cold wooden bench. The moonlight lit up her amber eyes. ‘I just received word from Gudela. There was another attack, and they… they killed my father,’ she cried. The night suddenly felt like an icy wind. ‘Do they know who did it?’ I asked. She said nothing but just handed me a note. I quickly read through it. This was a note from.. Erick Theomine? I’d ask dad later about him. For now, I just sat with Asha for a while, then walked her to her room and watched over her while she fell asleep.

Early in the morning, I woke up in a armchair in Asha’s room. Asha was still sleeping. I took the note and went to my father’s office. He was luckily already working. I entered his office and dad dismissed councilor Zarpelt. ‘Good morning honey. What made you visit my office at this hour?’ he frowned when he took a look at his watch. ‘Good morning to you too dad. Uh.. do you know Erick Theomine?’ I asked him. Dad’s eyes grew very large. ‘Shhh, don’t say his name so loud!’ he whispered. ‘Who got involved?’ he asked. ‘The High Priest,’ I said.


	20. Betrayal

Dad looked at the note. ‘This is not good. Erick Theomine is an assassin. He worked with the Torsa’s and destroyed Gudela the first time as well. He is madly feared in Flutherinck, his family used to rule the district. He killed them all and handed the land over to the Chawells and became Faedel’s Assassin in return,’ dad said. ‘Asha has to go to Gudela in a few days. She will become the next High Priest,’ I said, ‘But that won’t be safe for her.’ ‘I have an idea, but it’s very dangerous,’ dad said.

The morning of the Fire Festival, I gathered in a room with Dasher, Lucas, Jacob and dad. A door on the other side of the room opened and two men and a woman walked in. One of the men had red hair and freckles, he seemed a little older than Helena. The other man had no hair, and a huge scar on his head. The woman had pink hair and a piercing through her eyebrow. They all wore a uniform with a bulletfree vest and high boots. They were armed to their teeth yet seemed friendly. That made it even creepier. ‘Nice to meet you. We are from the Nightfall Forces,’ The woman said. ‘This is Crimson, he is Garfield and I am Rocky,’ the man with the scar said. ‘Rocky and I grew up together. He can be trusted,’ dad said. I felt my muscles relax, and even the boys loosened up. ‘Crimson will be training you on daily basis,’ Rocky said, ‘But not for today. During the festival, we’ll be undercover in the crowd.’ ‘Jacob and Lucas will be trained by me,’ Garfield, the red haired, said. ‘And you’re stuck with me boy,’ Rocky laughed at Dasher.

Crimson was really nice, she told me she was just over twenty. To my surprise, we got along pretty well. After Isabella dressed us up, Crimson showed me some tricks. Like storing a dagger at your back is safer than along your sides. It was also more covered up like that. In my turn, I showed her my hairpins and combs. She quickly ran through the plan with me if something were to happen. If something would happen, we had to pair up and flee into the Lanitona forest. The forest where I had met the shapeshifter. On the edge of the forest were carriages and horses waiting with Nightfall soldiers.

Crimson and I split up, and I went to get Helena. Helena was again beautiful, dressed in the teal colors of the ocean. Isabella designed a black dress with red and orange flowers for me. ‘Let’s go,’ I said. My thoughts went to Asha. She didn’t want to attend the Fire Festival, so she stayed in her room with a few guards. The festival was held in the gardens, it was beautiful. Mrs. Laudinse was there as well. The Chawells were dressed formally and especially Christian looked awfully handsome. Dasher wore a black suit with a red tie. Mom and dad were already swaying to the music amongst many others. I spotted Garfield dancing with Crimson, while they were scanning the room. Dasher was standing in a corner, talking to a man with short blonde hair. He saw me and I walked over. ‘Hey, who is your new friend?’ I asked over the music. The blonde guy turned around and smiled. ‘Rocky?’ I laughed. ‘Don’t say my name out loud!’ Rocky said while fixing his wig. ‘I go by the name Terence Smackerfille tonight.’ I couldn’t stop laughing. All Dasher did was smile and touch Rocky’s wig. ‘Hey, stop touching my hair!’ he whispered. ‘Come, let’s dance Aerilyn,’ Dasher said. Without waiting for a response, he took my hand and led me onto the dancefloor. We swayed and he held me pretty close. ‘Where is Asha?’ he asked when the song was over. ‘She is in her rooms, with a few guards. She didn’t want to come to the festival,’ I said.

After a few songs, Dasher had gone to get a drink, so I joined Helena and Mira in dancing. I was so happy to see my older sister live a little again. We really had fun and even danced with Princess Kathryn. ‘You all look beautiful,’ she said. ‘Thanks, you too,’ Mira said. Princess Kathryn was very nice and didn’t come over as threatening at all. It was already dark outside when Prince Christian approached me at the drinks table. ‘Would you like to dance?’ he asked. ‘I’d be honored.’ I returned with a smile. We walked to the dancefloor and danced with the others on the music. ‘You look very beautiful,’ he whispered in my ear so I could hear. I blushed. Then a slow song came up. ‘Do you mind?’ he asked. ‘No, no not at all,’ I shyly said. He grabbed one hand and put his other hand gently around my waist. I put my other hand on his shoulder. We danced and talked, not romantic at all actually. But that was fine. If I had to kill him one day, it’d go easier this way, I thought.

The slow song was almost finished when we heard shot sounds above the music. People started screaming. I tried to get eye contact with Crimson or Rocky, but I couldn’t find them in the chaos. Garfield was talking to dad while looking at the castle. Mom and dad paired up and disappeared into the forest. Then it hit me. The shot sound, castle, Asha.. I ran away from Christian and pushed myself carefully through the crowd. I ran through the dinner hall and almost flew over the main staircase. I ran through the hallway of the second floor, where her rooms were. I held my dress up again, and it felt like Helena’s wedding got repeated all over again. There were no guards in the hallway, that was a very bad sign. I kicked the door open. It felt as if someone pushed a knife through my guts. Four guards on the floor. Bleeding, they were all shot to death. On the bed lay Asha, she stared up to the ceiling. She was stabbed in her sides several times, and her throat was cut open. There had been a shot through her head to finish the job. I walked over to the bed and looked at my friend. Her amber eyes would never sparkle again. We would never gossip over boys again during our morning walks. I was just about to start crying when someone came in behind me and pulled me out of the room.

I couldn’t look up until we were out of the castle again. ‘Dasher? What are you doing here?’ I asked while we were running through the garden on our way to the Lanitona forest. ‘Dasher, ow, you’re hurting me, let go!’ I yelled. His firm grip didn’t loosen up until we had reached the forest. He let go and I fell on the ground. ‘Asha is dead! You should be searching the murderer!’ I said in anger. ‘When you heard the shots, you should’ve ran away into the forest Aerilyn. You were not supposed to see that!’ he hissed while he grabbed my arms and pulled me to my feet. I pushed him away and stepped back. ‘Now I have no choice,’ he said while unsheathing his sword. ‘I should’ve known it when you didn’t return from getting drinks!’ I yelled as loud as I could in the hope anyone would hear. Sure, I could fight well, but I only had two daggers, a few hairpins and my fists. I was no match for the Captain of the Guard. ‘Just know, Aerilyn, I truly loved you,’ Dasher said. He aimed at me but I managed to dodge his attack. I quickly grabbed the daggers from my back and tried to defend myself. I started becoming weak. All those kisses he gave me, were poisoned. He poisoned me with his love so I would trust him completely. Foolish of me not to wonder where he had actually been during Helena’s wedding. I threw one of my daggers at him, but only scratched his leg a bit. He held my arm with the other tight and pushed me back. Until I was standing against a tree. He dropped his sword and took my dagger. With his left hand, he almost crushed my throat, while he used his right hand to stab me. He stabbed me once and pushed me against the tree. I crumpled down and started breathing heavily. My vision became blurry and I heard more gunshots and some swearing. Dasher took off into the forest. I heard a familiar voice. ‘Aerilyn? Aerilyn! Stay with us, come on girl,’ ‘Lift her, quickly. Can’t believe I trusted that Dashy kid,’ The two persons lifted my body and carried me further into the forest. I saw the moon shining through the leaves. That was the last thing I saw before my vision went completely black.

continues in The Trials of Zetor-2  
;)


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